The Guilty One

A Novel

By: Lisa Ballantyne

Narrated by: Steve West

Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

An eight-year-old boy is found dead in a playground...and his 11-year-old neighbor is accused of the crime. Leading the defense is London solicitor Daniel Hunter, a champion of lost causes.

A damaged boy from a troubled home, Daniel's young client, Sebastian, reminds Daniel of his own turbulent childhood and of Minnie, the devoted woman whose love saved him. But one terrible act of betrayal irrevocably shattered their bond.

As past and present collide, Daniel is faced with disturbing questions. Will his sympathy for Sebastian and his own memories blind him to the truth? What happened in the park - and who, ultimately, is to blame for a little boy's death? Rethinking everything he's ever believed, Daniel begins to understand what it means to be wrong...and to be the guilty one.

©2012 Lisa Ballantyne (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers

TWO STORIES IN ONE!

This was an absolutely outstanding book! It pulls you into two stories, one a flashback and one a present! So well written and narrated! You will be glad you chose this book!!

Ok but repetitive

What made the experience of listening to The Guilty One the most enjoyable?

It is an interesting story, and you really do not know if Sebastian committed the crime. it keeps you guessing. Not really a thriller, more like a crime drama. The overlap is the stories is nice and I found the transition to be smooth. My main issue with the book is how repetitive it is on some regards. It gets annoying at times and takes away from a good story

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I think the narrator has a great voice. Having said that, his female voices are pretty bad. I wish he had omitted the he said she said given that he was changing voices for different characters.

Excellent character mystery/courtroom drama

An excellent, compelling,well developed back story of a complex lawyer defending a wily 11 year old accused of murdering a 7 year old playmate. Human interest story with marvelous insightfulness of the human condition by the author. Terse. Deserves its place on many lists of best courtroom dramas.

You will fall in love with the characters

I love the way that this author wrote her characters. She brought you in. Although there were some sad parts of the story, overall I very much enjoyed reading it. I even try to find another book by this author.

good story

narrartor was excellent. good story. ienjoyed and could not stop lisrening. two stories in one was entertaining.

an okay story

I loved the performance. and the back story but the main story is so so. at least for my taste. I would not call this book a thriller.

It goes on... & on, & on, & on, & on... & on

What didn't you like about the book?
If it was a real person telling this story in an autobiography, it'd probably be a chapter or two. Somehow it stretched into a whole novel. Mainly through overwriting. And then overwriting some more.
It's like reading a Stephen King novel. Except without any plot. Or interesting characters. Or real conflict. Because you know 99% of the result of the conflict from chapter 3, so at that point you really don't care what made it happen.
But I diligently waited for the shoe to drop. I finished the book with it still hanging around somewhere. Maybe. If the shoe ever existed.
What would've made you like the book more?
If the synopsis wasn't so misleading, maybe? A plot would've been nice. Maybe some dimensions to the characters. Less background building - any of that.
The synopsis was promising, but misleading about how massive the betrayal was. When you stack it up against a murder, you're thinking the betrayal is on that scale.
But it's not. And you're spoon fed what it is from the first small reveal all the way up to the let me s-p-e-l-l it out for you reveil. And then it's spelled out again. Oh, and two more times.
Just in case you missed it.
How was the narrator?
He was okay. He wasn't the most amazing narrator I've ever heard, but far from the worst. Although - combined with the story - his voice was insanely easy to tune out. Like fall asleep to and not even try to fight it tune out.
Would you read another book by this author?
I think this is the first book I've ever come across where I can definitively say no, I will actively avoid this author.

The Guilty One

Amazing story and an amazing performance by the narrator. Very well done. I would recommend it to anyone.

Great story and great narration

I have listened to a ton of books and this is one of my favorites, though parts of it were very sad. I would highly recommend this one, it didn't disappoint.

the guilty one

Daniel, the main character was an ungrateful Bastard toward his stepmother.
Steve West 's fantastic performance made the story exciting and moving. His brilliant narration is extraordinary.